Lacroes questions Kingdom Summit: “St. Maarten needs delivery, not another summit”

GREAT BAY--Member of Parliament Francisco Lacroes is questioning Government’s decision to host a new Kingdom Summit in November, arguing that the objectives outlined by Prime Minister Dr. Luc Mercelina closely resemble those already being pursued through the Interparliamentary Kingdom Consultation, IPKO, which St. Maarten will host less than two months later.

Mercelina told Parliament on Thursday that the Kingdom Summit is scheduled for November 17 and 18, 2026, with St. Maarten serving as host. He described the event as a government-to-government consultation involving St. Maarten, Aruba, Curaçao and the Netherlands.

According to the Prime Minister, the summit is intended to strengthen cooperation and collaboration between the four countries, improve cohesion and continuity within the Kingdom, increase understanding of each country’s priorities and challenges, identify areas where closer cooperation can be beneficial, and establish a foundation for future discussions on the long-term development of the Kingdom.

Mercelina also indicated that Government sees the November meeting as the beginning of a more structured and recurring dialogue among the governments of the Kingdom.

Lacroes said those objectives immediately raise a fundamental question: what exactly will this new summit accomplish that the existing Kingdom consultation mechanisms are not already designed to accomplish?

“Why do we need another Kingdom Summit in November when, just weeks later, St. Maarten will host the next IPKO with many of these same broad objectives?” Lacroes questioned. “If we are talking about strengthening cooperation, improving understanding between the countries, identifying areas for closer collaboration and building continuity within the Kingdom, then Government has to explain what is genuinely new here.”

The next IPKO is scheduled to take place in St. Maarten in early 2027, bringing together parliamentary delegations from St. Maarten, Aruba, Curaçao and the Netherlands to address Kingdom relations and matters requiring cooperation among the four parliaments.

Lacroes acknowledged that the November summit is a meeting of governments while IPKO is a consultation among parliaments, but said the Prime Minister’s stated objectives make the overlap difficult to ignore.

He said Government should explain the premise behind creating another recurring Kingdom-level consultation instead of strengthening and making better use of structures that already exist.

For Lacroes, the timing is particularly questionable because the upcoming IPKO in St. Maarten is expected to build directly on reforms led by President of Parliament Sarah Wescot-Williams aimed at changing how IPKO operates and, particularly, how agreements are followed through.

Lacroes said Wescot-Williams has invested significant time and effort into improving the way IPKO functions, with a stronger focus on delivery, accountability, continuity and visible results. Her leadership and proposals for a more effective process are expected to form an important basis for the next IPKO hosted by St. Maarten.

“The President of Parliament has invested time and energy into reforming IPKO so that it becomes less about meetings and statements and more about results, accountability and follow-through,” Lacroes said. “Those ideas are supposed to form the basis of how the next IPKO operates. Why, at this stage, would Government introduce another summit covering much of the same territory?”

He questioned whether the creation of a separate recurring government summit risks undermining confidence in the existing IPKO process at precisely the moment when efforts are being made to improve it.

“If Government believes IPKO cannot deliver what is needed, then say that clearly and explain why. Otherwise, establishing another structure with objectives that sound remarkably similar can be interpreted as an indictment of the work already being done through IPKO,” Lacroes said.

Lacroes also raised concerns about the additional cost to the country of organizing and hosting another Kingdom-level gathering at a time when Government has repeatedly pointed to limited financial space and competing budgetary demands.

“Every summit comes with a cost,” Lacroes said. “There are organizational expenses, security, transportation, accommodations, logistics and the use of Government resources. At a time when we are constantly being told that the country has limited money and difficult choices have to be made, Government must explain why spending additional funds on another summit is a priority.”

He said the concern becomes even more relevant when another major Kingdom consultation is already scheduled to take place in St. Maarten shortly afterward.

“If Government has limited resources, then every guilder has to be justified,” Lacroes said. “What is the added value that taxpayers will receive from this summit that could not be achieved through the structures we already have?”

He also challenged Government to explain what concrete decisions it expects to emerge from the November summit, what matters will be placed on its agenda, what authority the gathering will have and how its outcomes will differ from agreements already reached through existing Kingdom structures.

Lacroes said his concern goes beyond the relationship between the summit and IPKO. He argued that St. Maarten has accumulated conferences, consultations, working groups and meetings while residents continue waiting for implementation on longstanding national issues.

“Does St. Maarten really need another summit, another conference, another group or another gathering to talk some more?” Lacroes asked. “All we do is talk. Our people hear about meetings, committees, consultations and plans, but they are still waiting for delivery.”

He said the country does not need another forum that produces discussions without decisions or measurable results for the public.

“Now we have a new summit, more talking, additional costs, and the question is where are the decisions for the people?” Lacroes said. “Government must demonstrate that this will lead to something concrete and not simply become another item on a long list of consultations.”

He said that if there is a specific gap the Kingdom Summit is intended to fill, Government should identify it clearly. If there are matters that cannot be addressed through IPKO or another existing mechanism, Parliament and the public should be told exactly what those matters are.

Lacroes said the timing makes that explanation even more important, with the Kingdom Summit scheduled for November and St. Maarten preparing to host the next IPKO shortly afterward.

“For St. Maarten, the question has to be simple: what will our people get out of this?” Lacroes said. “Another meeting cannot be the result. The result has to be something that moves the country forward.”

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